Helpless
by WeBuiltThePyramids
Summary: "Then you look back at me, and suddenly I'm helpless." Florence returns to her lab still chuckling at Sylvester's joke.


**So I got people saying they would read a Fly fic from me, so here's one! The more in depth stuff and the smut I'm waiting to publish a bit still, wanna make sure it's not gonna be too far off from their canon dynamic. But here's something to start! Takes place during/the night after the events of Nerd, Wind, and Fire.**

* * *

"Precipitate," Florence chuckled to herself as she re – entered her lab, smiling and shaking her head. That was good. That was clever. That was _really funny_.

She had already cleaned up almost everything from the counter – you pretty much couldn't call yourself a chemist if you weren't a stickler for safety and keeping your work area clean was a huge part of safety in chemistry – but a few bottles still needed to be put away. Nothing she'd been working with had been dangerous, and no one else had access to her lab. She almost wished she'd left more to clean up. She certainly could use the distraction. She decided that she would go over everything again, taking her time, making sure everything was exactly right and giving her mind something to do.

She was glad that Paige didn't resent her for her role in Walter's dream. It wasn't her fault – even if Walter _had_ actually had feelings for her, she would never have encouraged it. But as much as Florence was baffled by much of human nature, she also had an odd understanding of it. She knew people resented people for things that weren't their fault. Thinking back on her life, and even on her relationship with those on Team Scorpion, Florence knew she'd done it, too. It was amazing to her how many things could have gone differently, resulting in her not having a relationship at all with the people next door. She paused to calculate the odds of everything turning out exactly right, and her eyes widened slightly at the unlikelihood. For all her initial annoyance at her neighbors, annoyance that did continue beyond her brush with death, she'd realized over the past few weeks that they'd genuinely become something to her. She'd started thinking of reasons she could go over and see what they were up to.

Sometimes she regretted that. But as much danger as the team regularly put themselves in, Florence was feeling oddly comfortable around them. At ease. Safe.

She didn't normally feel that. With anyone.

She took the bottle of hydrogen peroxide and placed it back in it's place on the shelf. She hoped Sylvester wouldn't get sick. Germs made him so uncomfortable.

Florence felt her cheeks flushing when she thought back on his smile. He didn't even care that the first Valentine's Day gift she ever gave someone was a bottle of disinfectant.

Well, of course he didn't care. He was like Paige, full of heart, and people like that appreciated thoughtful gifts even when they were also practical. And if he hadn't appreciated it, he wouldn't have specified that it was a Valentine's Day gift, right? She had just said holiday gift. _Holiday_. Generic. She played it real cool. Sylvester was the one that brought up what holiday it was.

 _For Valentine's Day?_

 _Sure._

It was _his_ idea, not hers. So that must mean that he _wanted_ it to be a Valentine's Day gift. So, he liked that that's what she gave him. It was a good gift. He _liked_ it.

She found herself smiling as she put the remaining bottles away and double checked to make sure all her unnecessary appliances were unplugged, noticing some grime on a few of them and taking the time to render them pristine. Then she filled a sponge and ran it over the table, the feeling of soapy water and foamed plastic polymers that she was accustomed to surrounding her fingers. She took a measure of comfort in her nightly routine, making her lab spic and span for the following day. It made the work space safe, it increased productivity, and it was familiar. It felt nice.

What wasn't familiar was the feeling of someone else's skin against hers, but her mind kept wandering back to when she'd placed her hands on Sylvester's hand and arm and squeezed without even realizing at first that she was doing it. She didn't do that. She wasn't comfortable with that. Professional contact, such as huddling up with Team Scorpion in the bunker, that she could do without so much as a second thought. Unnecessary touching was affectionate and she never got close enough to anyone to be comfortable with that. But even though it had been nearly hours now, she could still feel him on her hands as though they were still touching.

She dried the table and tossed the towel in the laundry bin. It was over half full, so she would have to head down to the place on the corner sometime this week. She found that many people considered laundry relaxing. She did not. She didn't enjoy much of anything when other people were around.

Florence headed up the stairs, a little more bounce in her step than usual. She had the studio apartment, but it was in a violent area and she didn't like going home when it was dark. Her lab was seeming more and more like home now. She wasn't sure if that was a bad thing or a good one. Her loft certainly wasn't as big nor as homey as the one next door, but it made do. The area with secure flooring had room for her bed, for a bookshelf, for an old hotel dolly that held her clothing and for the mini fridge that she had managed to get working again. It was enough. She was one tiny person; she didn't need any more space. When her lease was up she really ought to just get rid of the apartment.

She changed into the sweats that she usually wore to bed and knelt on her mattress, her ears picking up on some activity outside. She reached over and switched off the reading light above her bed.

Happy and Toby's car was pulling away, and Cabe and Sylvester were heading out toward the older man's car. Cabe was laughing at something Sylvester said. Florence found herself wishing she knew what it was.

Cabe walked around the car and then reached into his pocket, fishing out his phone. Sylvester looked at him a moment, and then he turned.

Florence froze for a moment when his eyes connected with hers, and she felt panic bubbling up within her until she remembered that the lights, while on outside on the streets, were off in her lab. He couldn't see her. He was looking up at her building, innocently, completely unaware that his eyes had fallen right on her. Feeling the bravery that invisibility gave, Florence looked right back at him, letting it linger in a way she was self – conscious about earlier. They were separated by several yards of height and the glass panes in the window but Florence was still taken by his eyes. They were large, soft, warm, full of feeling and life, everything hers struggled to express. Everything she struggled to feel and yet seemed magnetically drawn to. She had broken their gaze several times that night, and she knew were she in front of him, she wouldn't dare look this long.

Although now, she wasn't sure how she would be able to resist.

Sylvester stayed still another moment, then turned and opened the car door. Florence watched it pull slowly away. Then she sank down onto the mattress, flipped onto her back, and drew in a deep breath, her mouth forming an O as she slowly let it out.

* * *

 **I am literally so obsessed with this ship it's not even funny xD. ALSO I started using the name Fly and spreading it around before they even filmed 4.16 and now not only is it winning both the instastory and twitter polls from the official Scorpion accounts as to what their ship name should be, Tina is absolutely LOVING that one and is saying that it** _ **has**_ **to be their ship name and she's never gonna know I came up with it but I don't even care I'm still fangirling so fecking hard.**


End file.
